Kevin Miller | Center

Latest News

Recent News

Kevin Miller owes a Swiss insurance company $1.6 million for the career-ending hit he delivered to Andrew McKim during a 2000 Swiss league game.

U.S. District Judge Gordon Quis upheld a ruling Swiss court judgement. It will be interesting to see if this leads to more players being found financially liable for their on-ice actions. Former Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore is in the process of suing Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks for the career-ending hit he received in 2004. Sun, Jun 8, 2014 09:52:00 AM

A Swiss insurance company is suing former NHLer Kevin Miller over a hit he delivered to Andrew McKim in a Switzerland league contest that ended McKim's career.

The incident occurred in 2000 and the hit caused severe concussion and neck injuries for McKim. A Swiss court already rendered a $1 million judgment against Miller back in 2010, but it hasn't been paid and with interest that judgement has ballooned to $1.6 million. The insurance company wants a federal judge to recognize the Swiss ruling, but Miller argues that the insurance company agreed to pay the judgement. Miller has also filed a lawsuit against the insurers. Thu, Nov 15, 2012 01:36:00 PM

The Red Wings have signed Kevin Miller to a contract, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The 37-year-old journeyman has played 616 career NHL games for 9 different teams and will be a depth forward in the Wings' organization playing in Grand Rapids of the AHL this season. Thu, Aug 28, 2003 11:51:00 AM

Player News

A Swiss insurance company is suing former NHLer Kevin Miller over a hit he delivered to Andrew McKim in a Switzerland league contest that ended McKim's career.

The incident occurred in 2000 and the hit caused severe concussion and neck injuries for McKim. A Swiss court already rendered a $1 million judgment against Miller back in 2010, but it hasn't been paid and with interest that judgement has ballooned to $1.6 million. The insurance company wants a federal judge to recognize the Swiss ruling, but Miller argues that the insurance company agreed to pay the judgement. Miller has also filed a lawsuit against the insurers.

The Detroit Red Wings are confident that Dylan Larkin can make the full-time transition to center next season.

Larkin has played primarily on the wing in his first two NHL seasons, but that will change in 2017-18. "His best attributes are utilized when he plays center," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think he can continue to grow into becoming a great two-way center who can create offense and is very accountable defensively. And I think his defensive instincts are served at center, where he can anticipate where the puck is going, meet the puck and get out of the zone as fast as possible."

Riley Sheahan could be the player that Detroit loses in the expansion draft to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Red Wings may also expose Luke Glendening and Darren Helm. Neither of them would likely be targeted and Sheahan did attract some interest at the trade deadline despite his offensive struggles in 2016-17. Detroit still hopes to bring in some defensemen this off-season, so perhaps a trade could shake up who gets protected.

Luke Glendening underwent successful surgery Monday on his left ankle.

The procedure was required to repair tendon damage. Glendening missed the last seven games of the regular season after he suffered a fractured ankle and partially torn tendons. His recovery is expected to take three-to-four months, so he should be ready for the 2017-18 season.

Tomas Tatar is thrilled to have signed a four-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

"I can’t be more happy," Tatar said. "I’ve been on my phone talking to (friends) in the Detroit area and it’s just been real nice. I have a very special relationship with the Red Wings. I was a huge fan and it’s a really big relief for me to stay and continue my NHL career in Detroit." At times it looked like there wouldn't be such a favorable ending. At one point he suggested that if he had to go through an arbitration hearing then the 2017-18 campaign would likely be his last with the Red Wings. Detroit and Tatar weren't able to reach a compromise before that hearing, but they managed to agree to this new contract before the arbitrator ruled. Had the arbitrator ruled before the two sides were able to agree to terms on their own, then they wouldn't have been able to re-sign until January. That all said, Tatar noted that the arbitration wasn't "close to as bad as people were picturing" and noted that the Red Wings were great throughout the process.

Anthony Mantha feels he learned a great deal from his first full NHL season.

He wants to develop better habits and be more consistent after he registered 17 goals and 36 points in 60 games. "I know the way I play. I know my best games what they are. I know my bad games what they are," said Mantha. "So for me, it's just something I need to focus on and always have good or great games." He intends to continue to learn next season.

Darren Helm (lower body) will suit up in Monday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Helm has missed each of the last four games because of a knee injury. He's skating on Detroit's fourth line with Luke Glendening and Drew Miller. Helm has eight goals and five assists in 42 games. He isn't worth owning in standard fantasy leagues.

AHL playoff MVP Tyler Bertuzzi appears to be ready to make the jump to the NHL next season.

Bertuzzi played with speed and skill in the postseason to help Grand Rapids capture the Calder Cup on Tuesday night. "We call him playoff Bert," goaltender Jared Coreau said. "I don't know if it's just his style of play or his will to win, or his eagerness to win, but he just performs. He performs when it counts. He could have five points throughout the year but then have the playoffs he did. I'd keep him around forever." Bertuzzi generated 19 points in 19 games after he had 37 points in 48 contests during the regular season. He will get a long look at training camp.

He will probably be protected by Detroit at the expansion draft, but that doesn't mean that he won't be involved in trade talks. Detroit would like to make upgrades on the back end and Nyquist could be used as bait. He had trouble producing for most of the year before he heated up offensively down the stretch.

Contract talks between Detroit and RFA Andreas Athanasiou are ongoing.

"I made a number of offers; we continue to talk," GM Ken Holland said. "We've had a number of conversations." Holland declined to go into details, but there's speculation that Athanasiou may get a two-year bridge deal to prove himself.

Justin Abdelkader doesn't need surgery on his knee right now, but it's unclear if that will change.

Detroit GM Ken Holland said an ultrasound revealed "there is something" in the back of Abdelkader's knee, but he just resting for now. He still hopes to play in the 2017 IIHF World Championships even though he has been experiencing some discomfort.

Evgeny Svechnikov is eager to start training camp for a chance to crack Detroit's roster.

"I've been working real hard and I'm going to show them everything I have," Svechnikov said. "It's going to be exciting. Everybody has a chance (to make the roster). Every single guy in camp has a chance." This will be his third NHL training camp, but his odds have improved greatly to earn a spot on the big club. Svechnikov appeared in two games with the Red Wings last season and had a great year in the AHL with Grand Rapids.

Martin Frk's recently signed one-year contract is a two-way agreement.

Frk can earn $650,000 at the NHL level or $300,000 in the minors. He had 23 goals and 50 points in 65 AHL games last season. He'll be someone to watch during training camp, though he'll have a tough time making the team's opening game roster.

Mike Green can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2017-18 season.

Green was by far Detroit's top offensive blueliner last year. He averaged 0.50 points per game, which was nearly double that of Nick Jensen, who finished second among Red Wings defensemen with 0.27 points per contest. Detroit's other rearguards combined for 17 goals, while Green finished with 14 of his own. It will be interesting to see if he's willing to take less money to stay with Detroit or if he will be used as a trade chip at the deadline. Still, the Wings will be hard-pressed to get offense from the back end if Green is gone.

Danny DeKeyser doesn't agree with the NHL's decision to sit out the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"I don't think that's a very good decision," DeKeyser said. "I don't know who that benefits. It hurts everybody involved – both parties (players and NHL owners) – so it doesn't really make sense." Most players want to participate in the event, but the league and the owners decided to skip it. DeKeyser has represented the U.S. at two World Championships, including the 2017 tournament.

Look for Trevor Daley to pair with Danny DeKeyser when the Red Wings break camp in October.

Daley will also get a look at the point on the second power-play unit and we think it is reasonable he could top the 19 points he registered in 56 games with the Penguins last season. Draft him as a 25-30 point rearguard and you likely won't be disappointed.

Jonathan Ericsson has been lost the Red Wings for the rest of the season has he prepares to undergo wrist surgery next week.

He'll need 12 weeks to recover, putting his return well into the playoffs. With Detroit unlikely to be playing in May, his season is over. Ericsson had nine points, 36 blocks, 63 PIMs and 86 hits in 51 games this season, while averaging 19:13 of ice time per game.

Niklas Kronwall is excited for the move to Little Caesars Arena in 2017-18.

The Red Wings bid farewell to Joe Louis Arena last season with a 17-17-7 home record, which they will attempt to improve in their new arena. "With the new building, it's going to be awesome," said Kronwall. "I think with a new building, it'll be tough to bring in all the banners and expect the same feeling in the rink right away. I think there's a chance to create new memories, win new championships, get that same special feeling. But we'll try to keep it alive, obviously, around the room. We'll try to do our best to keep the same culture going, and everything comes down to hard work." Kronwall will be back for his 14th campaign, but a bothersome knee issue has severely hurt his fantasy value. He skated in 57 games last year, while posting 13 points, 77 hits, 81 blocks and 67 shots.

Detroit GM Ken Holland isn't sure if Ryan Sproul (knee) will be ready for the start of the season.

Holland expects Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Tomas Tatar (shoulder) and Luke Glendening (ankle) to be available for the season opener on Oct. 5, but he wasn't certain about Sproul's status. He missed the last 19 games of the 2016-17 campaign due to an ACL injury. Detroit will need a replacement for the seventh defense spot if Sproul isn't ready to play.

Newly-signed Luke Witkowski has a legitimate chance to break camp with the Red Wings in September.

The Detroit coaching staff seems intrigued with Witkowski's character, toughness and ability to play the wing as well as defence. If Witkowski does crack the Red Wing lineup, he could be a nice source for PIMs while qualifying in a number of positions.

The Detroit Red Wings want Jimmy Howard to suit up in 50-55 games next season.

That obviously means they consider him to be their starting goalie going into 2017-18. Petr Mrazek, who opened last year as the starter, will likely serve as the backup, while Jared Coreau will probably be the third stringer. "We’re very comfortable with Jared as a third," goaltending coach Jeff Salajko said. "I have no problem with him being the backup goalie, either. If we can keep Jimmy Howard healthy to play 50-55 games, I was comfortable with Jared in a role like that. But we obviously have Petr back - Vegas didn’t have interest in him, so I’m hoping he comes in with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove."

Detroit goalie coach Jeff Salajko hopes that Petr Mrazek will show up for training camp "with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove."

Mrazek was exposed in the expansion draft, but Vegas didn't select him and he is still a member of the Red Wings. The 25-year-old netminder struggled last season, while losing the number one job to Jimmy Howard and even surrendering some starts to Jared Coreau. Mrazek didn't perform very well at the 2017 World Hockey Championship for the Czech Republic either. He has one more year left on his contract and he is expected to compete with Howard for starts in 2017-18.

Jared Coreau will have to clear waivers to be sent down to the minors next season.

Coreau may be assigned to Grand Rapids because Detroit already has Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek on the roster. The Red Wings could also carry three goalies at the start of the season. "We're very comfortable with Jared as a third," goaltending coach Jeff Salajko said in early July. "I have no problem with him being the backup goalie, either. If we can keep Jimmy Howard healthy to play 50-55 games, I was comfortable with Jared in a role like that. But we obviously have Petr back - Vegas didn't have interest in him, so I'm hoping he comes in with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove." If Howard has injury issues or Mrazek struggles then Coreau could be an NHL option, but for now he is just a depth netminder.